London: Physicists have calculated that if Usain Bolt was to sprint on Saturn`s biggest moon Titan, he would actually be flying.
Students from the University of Leicester calculated that the nitrogen-rich atmosphere of Saturn`s largest moon would provide exactly the right conditions for Bolt to achieve take-off - if he was wearing a wing suit.
On Titan the surface pressure is nearly 50 percent stronger than Earth`s, meaning that the imbalance of pressure above and below the wings of Bolt`s (hypothetical) wingsuit would achieve lift relatively easily.
The team found that given the average wingsuit area (1.4 metres squared) any individual running above 11 metres per second would be able to take flight - and as Bolt has been clocked at top speeds of 12.27 metres per second, he would be in the air before he hit the finish line in a 100 metre sprint.
And by adjusting the size of the wingsuit, even relatively sluggish runners would be able to take off. With a wing area three times the normal size, a runner going just 6 metres per second would be able to take off.
The research is published in the Journal of Physics Special Topics.
